Outlaw

Stars: Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Bob Hoskins

Director: Nick Love

'Let's make a Brit crime flick. Sean Bean's a hard man: we'll cast him as the chief vigilante. And we must get Danny Dyer: he's in all of 'em. Then round up the usual suspects - anyone who looks as if he'd kick his granny's teeth in for the gas meter money. And find out if Bob Hoskins is free. There must be a part for him in there somewhere.'

The beginning of the story proves only to be a dream, but returning army man Bean, finding his wife in the arms of another man ('can't be a woman; no lesbian nonsense here') has soon assembled a jolly crew of psychos and those who have fallen victim to criminals and bullies. We don't see anything of their training but, hey, this movie's long enough.

A catalogue of sickening violence quickly piles up, full of smiling thugs and bleak photography, as the 'outlaws' pursue a Mr Big who, like all major criminals, the plot implies, has been tried and found innocent by the law.

The plot grows less and less likely as it goes on. It's a violent society, we're assured, and it's only going to get worse. With films like this, it's not surprising.

David Quinlan

USA 2007. UK Distributor: Pathe. Colour.
105 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 18.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 0, Swearing 3.

Review date: 03 Mar 2007